The Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport released The Ontario Culture Strategy: Telling our stories, growing our economy. The PASO-OPSA Coalition would like to the thank the MTCS for accepting our feedback during the consultation process.

We are thrilled to welcome Minister Eleanor McMahon as the new Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport! The PASO-OPSA Coalition looks forward to working with Minister McMahon to better represent the needs of artists and arts service organizations in Ontario.

PASO-OPSA Coalition released its response to the Draft Culture Strategy report… This response voices the feedback of PASO-OPSA’s 28 member organizations during the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport’s consultation period for their creation of the Culture Strategy report.

Due to a malware attack back in April, the website was deactivated for a few months so that the PASO-OPSA Coalition could make security adjustments. We are happy to say we are back in action and will be updating the site with recent developments in the world of cultural policy in Ontario.

As part of building Ontario’s first Culture Strategy, the government asked for input about what culture means to them. Here is the paper that PASO-OPSA submitted. Special thanks to Warren Garrett and Adriano Meno for preparing this paper.

PASO-OPSA Coalition releases its Leadership Reports… The PASO-OPSA Coalition is proud to announce the release of its Leadership Reports. Titled Advocacy Models Report and ASO Sector Profile and Leadership Study, these reports feature important information obtained from the Executive Director and the elected President of the Board of Directors of arts service organizations in Ontario. These findings and statistics can be useful for grant writing and other proposals, and are relevant for use by other arts service and non-profit organizations.

The research and these reports were made possible through generous donations by PASO’s member organizations, especially the Ontario Association of Art Galleries (OAAG), as well as funding from the Cultural Development Fund and the Ontario Arts Council. Gerald Smith (First Stage), Heather Young (Young Associates) and Eric Dubeau were commissioned to carry out the research and analysis for this project.

PASO-OPSA Coalition hires a new Advocacy Coordinator (Toronto)… The Provincial Arts Service Organization of Ontario is proud to announce that it has hired Lindsay Earnshaw in the position of Advocacy Coordinator. She has a background in legal administration and is a graduate of the Arts Administration and Cultural Management program at Humber College. She has worked with PASO previously during her internship at the Ontario Association of Art Galleries and is eager to continue her advocacy work. Lindsay is joining the coalition at an exciting time as the government begins to develop Ontario’s first culture strategy.

Lindsay’s prime objective is to increase PASO-OPSA’s web presence through social media, and disseminate important advocacy information to a wide and engaged audience. Please feel free to contact her with any ideas and thoughts you may have about advancing the initiatives of PASO-OPSA.

The Advocacy Coordinator will be in-office on Wednesdays and Thursdays and can be reached through pasoontario@gmail.com or 416-408-4556 x15.

About the PASO-OPSA Coalition

PASO-OPSA is a Coalition of Provincial Arts Service Organizations that strives to strengthen the environment for the individuals and institutions that create and disseminate the arts in this province and for public access to the arts. Its collective memberships are made up of individual artists as well as the performance and exhibition organizations that create and support artistic expression. PASO-OPSA operates on the principle of voluntary contributions of time and travel from Coalition member organizations. Connect with PASO-OPSA by e-mailing Bruce Pitkin at: bruce@theatreontario.org or 416-408-4556 x11. Rosslyn Jacob Edwards can be reached at: rcj@danceontario.ca.

PASO Representatives Meet in Ottawa

This past 23rd of March, several PASO Representatives from both anglophone and francophone provincial arts service organizations met in Ottawa for the first time to engage in discussion about the coalition’s future endeavours and priorities.